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PERUMALMURUGANIS A COWARD

Perumal Murugan, the writer is dead. As he is no God, he is not going to resurrect himself. He also has no faith in rebirth. An ordinary teacher, he will live as P. Murugan. Leave him alone,

since January 13th 2015 this Facebook post has generated considerable debate in the Indian media , The controversy over his novel Madhorubhagan, first published in December 2010 ,and his subsequent decision to quit writing is often portrayed as the brutal attack on freedom of speech guaranteed by our constitution by right wing groups . In the intellectual circles he is often equated with the victims of Charlie Hebdo massacre that took place in Paris on January 7th 2015 . .Comparing him with those brave souls who stood by their views till the end is nothing short of a crime , The magazine have stood by the cartoon of prophet Mohammed it published in 2006 and 2012 in face of all opposition including the attacks of 2011 . Though most of its editorial board were killed in the 2015 attack , it still fights the intolerant society that finds it hard to interpret its message . Perumal Murugan on the other hand quit writing at the slightest of provocations . According to him “a writer cannot function under threat or fear ” and that was the reason of him writing his own obituary as a writer . This is nothing short of cowardice , as we are entitled to freedom of speech , so is our moral responsibility stand by it .He should have shown the courage to fight the communal forces conspiring against him and must have taken up the issue at the national stage . The biggest mistake he did was to attend the “peace meeting ” on the 12th of January with his caste and religious groups , rather than boycotting it .His unconditional apology thereafter was the greatest shame to the Indian constitution than what he is blaming others for . Post Independence , the constituent assembly was a battle field , the Hindu right opposed the Hindu Code Bill with all its strength both inside and outside the house , but our founding fathers never gave in , which in turn brought the religion out of its coffin.

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Humanity has a general tendency to oppose dissenting voices as soon as they here them , it will take time for them to debate and finally to understand . A true writer is one who not only creates works like Madhorubhagam but also stands by it .We would find it hard to understand the practices prevalent in the past like the one at Sri Arthanareeshwarar Temple , Tiruchengode , but it is for people like Perumal Murugan to present it to us . For example , the new generation among Nair caste of Kerala are often ignorant about the practice of sambadham which was prevalent till a few decades back. If told about the polyandrous nature of their women in the past ,the first reaction would be the similar to what Mr Murugan received .But it will never alter the reality . A writer must be the brave conscience of the society , that is why Mr Perumal Murugan’s following affidavit at the Madras high court shows his cowardice.

I published my own obituary in my Facebook account. Whether others believe in the death of Perumal Murugan as a writer or not, I believe in it. A writer cannot function under threat or fear,